Pages

Monday, February 29, 2016

Rare Disease Day® takes place on the last day of February each year.
The main objective of Rare Disease Day is to raise awareness amongst
the general public and decision-makers about rare diseases and their
impact on patients’ lives. Learn more about the history of Rare Disease Day.

The 2016 global theme, “Patient Voice,” recognizes
the crucial role that patients play in voicing their needs and in
instigating change that improves their lives and the lives of their
families and carers.

The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD)
is the official Sponsor of Rare Disease Day in the United States
alongside our sister organization, EURORDIS (The European Organization
for Rare Disorders), which organizes the official international
campaign. Over 80 countries participated in Rare Disease Day 2015. To
learn what’s happening around the world, visit the global Rare Disease
Day website at rarediseaseday.org.

Anyone can get involved in Rare Disease Day
awareness. On this site, U.S. participants can find, suggest and get
involved in events taking place across the country. We also have suggested activities for those who are new.

Sunday, February 21, 2016

Dear Respiratory Friends we are happy to present you new article on hot topic Lung and inflammatory bowel diseases and chronic liver diseases from ERJ 2016!

This review is devoted to the distinct associations of inflammatory
bowel diseases (IBD) and chronic liver disorders with chronic airway
diseases, namely chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchial
asthma, and other chronic respiratory disorders in the adult population.
While there is strong evidence for the association of chronic airway
diseases with IBD, the data are much weaker for the interplay between
lung and liver multimorbidities. The association of IBD, encompassing
Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, with pulmonary disorders is
underlined by their heterogeneous respiratory manifestations and impact
on chronic airway diseases.

The potential relationship between the two
most prevalent liver-induced pulmonary vascular entities, i.e.
portopulmonary hypertension and hepatopulmonary syndrome, and also
between liver disease and other chronic respiratory diseases is also
approached. Abnormal lung function tests in liver diseases are described
and the role of increased serum bilirubin levels on chronic respiratory
problems are considered.

Get your loved one to stop smoking Inside. Second-hand smoke puts a non-smoker who is living with a smoker at a greater risk of developing lung cancer.

Check the water for arsenic. Drinking water with
high levels of arsenic is a possible contributing factor to lung cancer.
This odorless, tasteless metalloid is typically found in well water.
It’s prevalent in Western states like California, Nevada and Arizona,
but it can be found in other places across the United States as well.

Know your history. Genetics play a role in your
susceptibility to lung cancer. If you already had lung cancer, or anyone
in your family, such as siblings, parents or children have lung cancer,
you are at a greater risk.

Avoid supplements. Specifically avoid taking beta
carotene if you smoke. Studies have shown that this supplement increases
a smoker’s risk of lung cancer.

Avoid air pollution. This can be difficult in cities with high-traffic and dense populations. In that case, avoid the outdoors on polluted days.

Check for radon. Radon can be a cause of lung
cancer in both smokers and non-smokers,, but studies have shown that
smokers are at greater risk. This radioactive gas is found in homes all
over the United States. Radon testing is the only way to truly know if
your home’s radon levels are safe. Make sure to check the radon levels
in any home you are looking to purchase, because even a next door
neighbor’s home can have different levels than yours. The EPA has maps
of radon zones for every state.

Avoid asbestos and diesel exhaust. People who work
around or are exposed to asbestos are more likely to die of lung
cancer. This is in addition to the other type of cancer asbestos causes,
which hurts the lining surrounding the lungs.

Go for a walk. Do something physical, like yoga or ride a bike. Pumping fresh oxygen and blood through system helps to clean out your lungs

Sunday, February 7, 2016

Aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD) is characterized by
asthma, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis, and pathognomonic
respiratory reactions to aspirin (Samter’s triad). It has been estimated that this syndrome affects 7% of adults with asthma and 14% of those who have severe asthma.
Pathologically, AERD is characterized by marked eosinophilic
inflammation and ongoing mast-cell activation in the respiratory mucosa.
The frequent recurrence of nasal polyps after surgery, as well as the
requirement for high-dose glucocorticoids to manage the asthma, reflect
the aggressive, persistent nature of the disease. The typical onset is
in adulthood, with or without preexisting asthma, rhinitis, or atopy.
An absence of familial clustering argues against a strong genetic
basis, and the identification of variants of candidate genes in small
studies has not been replicated.

All
nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that inhibit both
cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 and COX-2 may provoke the pathognomonic reactions
in AERD; these reactions are accompanied by idiosyncratic activation of
respiratory tract mast cells. In contrast, patients with AERD can
usually be treated with COX-2–selective drugs without having these
reactions.
The fact that structurally diverse NSAIDs that block COX-1 all provoke
reactions reflects an enigmatic requirement for COX-1–derived
prostaglandins to maintain a tenuous homeostasis. Curiously, the
reactions also induce a refractory state in which NSAIDs can be used
with diminished or no sequelae (desensitization); in fact, after
desensitization, high-dose aspirin has therapeutic benefits. Insights into the mechanisms responsible for the pathogenesis of AERD or its treatment have been limited.

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality
worldwide, and at only 18%, it has one of the lowest 5-year survival
rates of all malignancies. With its highly complex mutational landscape,
treatment strategies against lung cancer have proved largely
ineffective. However with the recent success of immunotherapy trials in
lung cancer, there is renewed enthusiasm in targeting the immune
component of tumors. Macrophages make up the majority of the immune
infiltrate in tumors and are a key cell type linking inflammation and
cancer. Although the mechanisms through which inflammation promotes
cancer are not fully understood, two connected hypotheses have emerged:
an intrinsic pathway, driven by genetic alterations that lead to
neoplasia and inflammation, and an extrinsic pathway, driven by
inflammatory conditions that increase cancer risk. Here, we discuss the
contribution of macrophages to these pathways and subsequently their
roles in established tumors. We highlight studies investigating the
association of macrophages with lung cancer prognosis and discuss
emerging therapeutic strategies for targeting macrophages in the tumor
microenvironment.

In recognition of World Cancer Day on February 4, we are supporting the World Cancer Day 2016: ‘We Can. I
Can.’ campaign. The global campaign highlights how everyone, as a
collective or as individuals, can do their part to reduce the global
burden of cancer.

Next year alone, nearly 9 million people are likely to die of cancer,
and left unchecked, the number of deaths will increase to 13 million
per year by 2030. World Cancer Day is a chance to reflect on what you
can do: make a pledge and take action. Whatever you choose to do ‘We
Can. I Can.’ will make a difference to the fight against cancer. The
initiative outlines nine targets to be achieved by 2025 with the
overarching goal to reduce cancer deaths by 25% by 2025. The targets
include strengthening health systems, measuring cancer burden and impact
of cancer plans in all countries, reducing exposure to cancer risk
factors, universal coverage of HPV and HBV vaccination, reduction of
stigma and dispelling myths about cancer, universal access to screening
and early detection for cancer, improvement in access to services across
the cancer care spectrum, universal availability of pain control and
distress management, and improvement in education and training of
healthcare professionals.

According to the World Health Organization, lung cancer is the most
common cancer worldwide, accounting for 1.8 million new cases in 2012,
and is responsible for nearly one in five deaths. While most understand
that smoking is the single greatest risk factor for lung cancer, regular
exposure to secondhand smoke also increases the risk. In addition,
environmental exposure to radon, asbestos, arsenic, beryllium, and
uranium have all been linked to lung cancer. The risk of lung cancer
also increases with a history of cancer in another part of the body,
age, family history, radiation to the chest area, and lung diseases like
COPD and tuberculosis.

Monday, February 1, 2016

Dear friends, this is new article on new approaches in asthma and COPD from todays European Respiratory Journal!

Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are two
prevalent chronic airway diseases that have a high personal and social
impact. They likely represent a continuum of different diseases that may
share biological mechanisms (i.e. endotypes), and present similar clinical, functional, imaging and/or biological features that can be observed (i.e.
phenotypes) which require individualised treatment. Precision medicine
is defined as “treatments targeted to the needs of individual patients
on the basis of genetic, biomarker, phenotypic, or psychosocial
characteristics that distinguish a given patient from other patients
with similar clinical presentations”. In this Perspective, we propose a
precision medicine strategy for chronic airway diseases in general, and
asthma and COPD in particular.

Read COPD Research and Practice

COPD Research and Practice publishes basic and clinical research and review articles relating to the development, progression and treatment of COPD and related disorders

Read Current Respiratory Medicine Reviews

Current Respiratory Medicine Reviews publishes original research papers, frontier reviews, drug clinical trial studies and guest edited issues dedicated to clinical research on all the latest advances on respiratory diseases